Esther Bitutu Kadiki was released by the court on a Sh30 million bond. The lawyer who was been caught up in the Sh1.5 billion Equity heist that occurred at Equity Bank between May 1 2024 and July 31, 2024 was released by Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina.
When releasing Bitutu, Justice Onyina said that the lawyer is not a flight risk as the prosecution had claimed in court. The judge however order Bitutu to surrender herself to the investigating officers to record the required statements.
“[Bitutu] cannot be a flight risk simply because she told the police that she had been out of the country when she wanted to record a statement,” Onyina ruled.
“There is no evidence presented by the police to show that she attempted to interfere with any of the witnesses or investigations since October 2024 when the probe into the monumental bank heist begun.” The judge further directed that the case be mentioned on May 30, 2025 for further directions.
In the case, an affidavit sworn by a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has alleged that Bitutu ran an elaborate scheme through which she siphoned Sh1,499,465,831 from Equity Bank.
According to the affidavit sworn by Inspector Chrispinus Sore Shibanda who is attached to the DCI’s Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, Bitutu operated a system that included the use of cryptocurrencies, bulk withdrawals, and money transfers to other banks to siphon the money out of Equity Bank.
The prosecution alleged that Bitutu had overseen the recruitment of a team that would take part in the Equity Bank heist. Apparently, the transfer of funds from Equity was the last phase of the intricate system that had been set up and operated by Bitutu, the DCI alleged.
DCI: How Esther Bitutu Kadiki siphoned Sh1.5 billion from Equity Bank
“[Bitutu] is a member of a larger organized group that is well-structured with every individual assigned his or her duties in order to facilitate the commissioning and omission of the crimes starting from recruitment of the targeted bank staff, penetrating of the bank system and identifying, recruiting both natural, artificial proxy persons and, or companies whose accounts would be used to launder the proceeds of crime,” Shibanda, who is the investigating officer in the case states in the affidavit.
